Your online source for Jane Austen and her legacy
From the desk of Laurel Ann Nattress: Happy Friday Dear Readers, Are you ready to be inspired? If so, I am happy to introduce you to moving story of a life-long Jane Austen fan who began her journey in the 1940s, earned her PhD in teaching and reading Jane Austen at the age of 88,... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Tracy Hickman: If women who read are dangerous, what about women who write? Following my review of Stefan Bollmann’s Women Who Read Are Dangerous, I thought I would explore its “sister” book: Women Who Write Are Dangerous, also by Bollmann. Francine Prose, American novelist, essayist, and critic, sets the stage for... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Tracy Hickman: If you page through Women Who Read Are Dangerous looking for visual representations that most people associate with danger, you might be confused initially. None of the women are brandishing weapons or committing violent acts. Instead, they sit quietly perusing books, pamphlets, magazines, hymnals, and letters. Some subjects have... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Tracy Hickman: Austenesque fiction like The Jane Austen Project and the BBC TV series Lost in Austen have entertained Janeites with fantastic stories about journeying back in time to Austen’s Regency Britain. While I cannot imagine being tempted myself, unless guaranteed a round-trip ticket, the idea of a virtual visit to... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Tracy Hickman: One of my favorite Austen quotes from her letters concerns food: “I shall eat ice and drink French wine and be above vulgar economy.” This was penned in anticipation of a visit to Godmersham, where her brother Edward provided luxuries beyond Jane’s regular fare. From the white soup... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Tracy Hickman: If friends are family that we choose, then what do our friendships reveal about us? And what might the literary friendships of women tell us about their lives and their work? Authors and friends Emily Midorikawa and Emma Claire Sweeney examine the relationships of iconic literary women in A... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Laurel Ann Nattress: Have you ever read a book and felt an immediate infinity to the author—like they were your best friend and had written the book just for you? It doesn’t happen very often for me, but it did when I read Pride and Prejudice for the first time many... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Laurel Ann Nattress: I am a true movie geek and confess to having spent a good portion of my free time since childhood in a movie theater or glued to the TV screen. I adore everything from the Golden Age of Hollywood classics to modern creations. Now that we can stream... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Laurel Ann Nattress: Hello readers! Do you have plans for the weekend? While international and local travel is restricted during the pandemic, would you like to visit Jane Austen's England from the safety of your armchair? It is great to know that we can still visit Jane Austen country via Jane... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Sophia Rose: Compiling his thoughts on the first three of Jane Austen’s published novels, Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, and Mansfield Park, author Robert Rodi fires a broadside at the swooning, sugary sentimentality of the modern Jane Austen fan craze. He is appalled that such a group has turned a... Continue Reading →
From the desk of Tracy Hickman: Was Jane Austen a radical? Was she sympathetic to the “radical reforms” of Charles James Fox and others that included universal male suffrage, the abolition of slavery, and women’s rights? Few would readily place her in the company of Thomas Paine, William Godwin, or Mary Wollstonecraft, but perhaps that... Continue Reading →
Welcome to Sanditon, an 1819 Regency seaside community in Sussex England—the fictional site of the new ITV/PBS television adaptation/continuation of Jane Austen’s final unfinished novel. For those who are watching the eight-part series currently airing in the US on PBS, The World of Sanditon, by Sara Sheridan will be catnip to heighten your addiction. A... Continue Reading →
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